Review: 'Lights Out' - 'Head Games': Wherefore art thou, Romeo?

A review of tonight's "Lights Out" coming up just as soon as I'm in a dark room for a week...

"So for this fight, we gonna make some changes." -Ed Romeo

Last week, I noted the unfortunate coincidence that Lights' big fight episode was accompanied by "How Ya Like Me Now?," which was already used in a very similar way in "The Fighter." "Head Games" doesn't have any familiar music cues, but in many ways is even more evocative of the Oscar winner in the way it shows its aging, comebacking fighter struggling to not be dragged back down by the negative family members for whom he's been a longtime meal ticket.

Of course, it's not like either that film or this show are reinventing the wheel. Plenty of boxing stories have dealt with the negative energy of family ("Million Dollar Baby," to name yet another Oscar winner). What matters is the execution. And in bringing in Eamonn Walker as Lights' eccentric new trainer Ed Romeo, "Lights Out" has executed the hell out of this particular trope.

Walker's an interesting case. I tend to prefer my TV drama actors to be fairly natural in style, yet I've almost always enjoyed the mannered, theatrical nature of Walker's performances on shows like "Oz" and "Kings" (though that was a show where everyone was theatrical) and now here. Walker never quite lets you forget that you're watching him acting, but the things he's doing - here with the hoarse, deliberate manner of speaking and his slumped but guarded posture - are usually so compelling that I set it aside.

And in this particular case, Walker's otherness turns out to be an advantage. He's not a white Irish guy, but he also seems to be from a slightly different show than even Barry Word and Death Row - and that works, because "Head Games" is all about how Ed's arrival shakes up Lights' world, and so unsettles his blood relatives.

Walker and Holt McCallany quickly develop a good rapport, and the episode plays on some other tropes of the genre that always work well, as the new trainer introduces his various unorthodox ideas (swap around your body clock! have lots of sex with your wife!), and I look forward to more in the coming weeks. At the same time, given how unstable Ed is, I wonder if he's actually going to be around all season, or if Lights and his dad are going to have to reunite sometime before the Death Row fight.

All in all, another solid episode - and another one in which the scenes involving Lights' personal life are a bit of a drag. Subplots about the kids on shows like this always tend to be dicey - even "The Sopranos" was pretty hit-or-miss on telling interesting stories about AJ and Meadow - and the only one of Lights' children I'm invested in at all is Daniela, and only because she's the one who's (mostly) keeping his dementia secret. Ava and Katie (who's conveniently off at a Girl Scout retreat) are just furniture so far; they represent what Lights is trying to protect, and also what he could lose if he takes a few more bad hits, but devoting actual story time to them thus far isn't really working.

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

I thought it was the best episode of the series Alan. I think it was the first great hour of television they have done.

I disagree with you totally about Ava, to me she is the one person in the family who first and foremost is a fan of Lights. She is obviously a daddy girl, who was the only one going to the gym to watch him spar. She is old enough to remember his fights, and realizes this is what her father is, a fighter first.

Eamoon Walker is amazing as always, I really liked the scene with him and Theresa that showed her seeing how damaged this guy in her house was, without her husband being involved.

I also really liked them showing much more of the title fight, where you can clearly see how and why Lights did not pull the trigger with his dad giving him bad advice, and why that was.

If the show continues as this high point, I am going to be setting myself up for another big disappointment with FX, as a second season does not look promising.

Oh well, I hope it does, as tonight the show became something more than a good show at least for me.

I agree about Ava. I think she is great. Not only does she realize her dad is a fighter, but she realizes that her mom tried to change him and control his life; I think she saw what that did to Lights, and that is why (at some point in the past) she stopped pretending to want to be a doctor to please her mom. She is the oldest daughter from a rich, but screwed up family; and can't wait for her freedom (college)

For the Ava subplot, they could have shown one fight with her mom and then the scene where Ed takes their picture, and it would have been just as effective as the whole picture. I love the show, but I think his family has been the low point.

The biggest problem for me in this episode though was how much I hated Pops. It didn't even bother me that he quit on Lights, it was the way he tried to re-insert himself into the fight that I found so irritating. We've come to expect that kind of BS from Johnny, but his dad doing it rubbed me the wrong way.

All in all though, a strong episode of what is my favorite drama airing right now. Just need to keep crossing my fingers for a Season 2. RIP Terriers.

Stupid Iphone. Terriers is gone. It does not need to be mentioned on every single article about a FX show. You guys need to let it go. There are several shows still out there that are exponientially better than Terrier was.

Thanks for the input. But if I want to put two little words at the end of my comment, then I'm going to and that's none of your concern. I liked the show, it got canceled and it's looking like Lights Out might be in trouble so I brought it up. I don't know why that would bother anyone.

It doesn't bother me and of course you're free to mourn the loss of a show you liked. I wasn't directing that just at you. It was more of a general annoyance at seeing RIP Terriers or "oh my god I miss Terriers" multiple times after every single Lights Out or Justified review. No one does that for other great shows cancelled last year and I don't understand why everyone has to do that for Terriers.

Hate to annoy you Ryan, but every time I watch an FX drama now I think of Terriers. I don't know how many shows still on television are "exponentially better" than Terriers (it was one of my favourite shows of the past 12 months), and regardless, I don't think the existence of superior shows should preclude fans mentioning it in passing from time to time.

I know FX reviews will be burdened with this for some time, but it's a minor inconvenience for you, really...

Well Jack, Breaking Bad definitely is certainly better. Mad Men is 80% of the time. Justified is. Sons of Anarchy is(not counting the middle 8 episodes of this season). ALso, I have no problem with fans mentioning it in passing from time to time. I just don't think it needs to be mentioned after every FX review.

Fair enough, Ryan, and I happen to agree with you on Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and, probably, Sons of Anarchy. I think Terriers, however, had an extremely strong first season (probably stronger than Breaking Bad's first season, but overall I think Breaking Bad is the best show on television). I definitely think its first season was superior to Justified's, but I guess that's just me. I just don't think there are SEVERAL superior shows out there, just a small group of them...

The show is good, but I do miss the earlier episodes. I love boxing movies and watching that progress, so I dig the scenes with Lights and Romeo. I enjoy a lot of the conflict between Lights and his dad. I wish they integrated some of the those story lines with the training scenes.

Didn't some guy get shot at the beginning of the season? i think I remember that.

The issues I have are that we're moving away from some of the good stuff that made the show original which was shown at the beginning of the series. Lights breaking the law and bending the rules. I think we'll get back to that stuff as the Reynolds fight gets closer, but I enjoyed that conflict more that I enjoy the family drama.

This was probably the most compelling episode to date for me. Eammon Walker was an excellent shift from the "Family" that more often than not are the key to our skeleton closets, That always seem to drag us back to that place we fight so hard to leave behind. I hope this is just a peak of whats to come with this promising show. The eldest daughter is got to be one of the most annoying characters in tv.

I also love the new trainer. Great insight and knowledge, but it comes with a little bit of crazy.

The oldest daughter Ava is far more than furniture. She has had some really strong scenes over the last few weeks. I remember IMDBing her after a particularly good scene and finding out she was Libby on Royal Pains (girlfriend of a rich boy with medical/daddy problems). Both of the older daughters add a lot to the show.

One of my favorite episodes so far this season. I hope Ed Romeo is here to stay, because he's a very interesting character, and tonight he breathed fresh air into a show that was starting to grow a bit stale for me.

Every time the family had a behind the doors conversation about the Morales fight, we didn't get to hear their discussion. Did they talk about whether or not Morales threw the fight? We don't know.

I'd have to watch it again to make sure, but there's one point where Nick Sobatka (brother Johnny) said to the dad that there's so much he had to tell him about the fight and then in front of Lights only mentioned that he told the dad about the eye.

I don't know if I believe this but here's an nteresting hypothesis: the family (brother, sister, dadâ€”who Alan above talks about how they mooch off of him) knows the fight was thrown but they won't tell Lights because they stand to gain more if Lights fights Death Row again.

I thought the sister's reaction to Romeo was a little too severe in such a short period of time. I get why Johnny doesn't like him, but the rest of the family doesn't make sense. The dad had perfect reasons for walking away, and it seemed like a good way for them to do it. There are other ways Stacy keach can still contribute to the show in a positive way.

As for the kids plot, I thought it was good. Not because I am really invested in the daughter, but I thought it was a good scene between Lights and his wife discussing the after prom situation. it shows hard hard it is for her to trust and not worry about those closest to her and how much he is always going to give those he loves the benefit of the doubt whether they deserve it or not. It was a real parent conversation , and Theresa waiting up to get the text that everything was all right was a nice touch to show that she isn't infelxible and that she isn't a bad person for wanting order and rules and safety, just that's she concerned about her family and that's how it comes out from her.
The only probelm I had was that Death Row and Lights almost seem like buddies they way they are constantly interacting with each other. One episode has Death Row buying the gloves and dropping them off at the house. Then they're at the diner having something to eat and trading notes. then he shows up at the gym during training sessions. I know he has his own self-interest at heart even when he's being helpful to Lights, but it's weird, especially in this age of camera phones, invasive media, and twitter that no one notices how much time they spend together.
Another really good episode.

I could be wrong, but it seems Reynolds wants Lights to be the best he possibly can for the fight. Lights beat him in the previous fight, maybe not by the judges, but in that moment where Lights had Reynolds on the ropes and he pulled back because of his father, Reynolds knows this. He's been hearing about that moment for five years, and he wants to fight Lights in the ring to try and prove himself. They're not best friends, but it obvious they respect each other.

Loved seeing Walker. He's just fun to watch. He reminded me of Will Smith's character in Bagger Vance.

I've noticed a few times on this show that the neither Daniela or Ava have any respect for their mother. There is no way I would be so cavalier about the way they talk to her. They shoot her down all the time and she just cowers.

Loved this episode, ESPECIALLY the debut of Walker as Ed. Talk about injecting a jolt of eccentricity into a great but, admittedly, stabilized show.

The one question I had was about the â€œPreviouslyâ€ clips, where they showed the Daniella revealing the pugilistic dementia to Margaret. I was expecting her to tell Johnny and Pops about it to get Lights back under their thumb. Maybe sheâ€™s holding it as a trump card if they canâ€™t talk him into it otherwise. Iâ€™m just surprised to see it referenced in the â€œwhatâ€™s come beforeâ€ section but with no payoff in the actual episode (at least not that we saw).

I thought this was by far the best episode of the season. There are many factors contributing to my opinion but my #1 reason is that it was realistic. There were no cage fights, people getting shot, arms being broken. It was plain and simple: great character development. That is what makes a great show: great characters. Also, what made it stand out was that I thought Ed Romeo is the best character to date on this show. I hope he is here to stay.

Have to agree with all those who thought this was the best episode so far. I thought it felt like a whole new -- and much better -- show. Despite the similarities to The Fighter, the family vs. trainer tension felt real and earned, and I loved the character development (especially for the sister, whose name escapes me at the moment).

Really couldn't care less about the daughters, though. I don't mind Daniela so much -- her concern about her father and his pugilistic dementia helps remind us of what's at stake outside the ring, especially now that Theresa is back on board and doesn't know about the dementia. But the Ava subplot left me cold. Why on earth do I care whether she lives up to her potential, or how Theresa feels about her lack of direction? I like to see Patrick interacting with his kids, but otherwise I have no interest in them.

I was starting to get a little bored with the show, to be honest, but this episode renewed my interest and then some. Maybe an outsider like Romeo was just what the show needed to shake things up.

Yes, that got discussed a lot last week and in the end I don't think that Morales threw the fight. For one thing, you don't headbutt a guy and open up a cut over his eye in round one if you're going to take a dive in round 2.

Excellent episode and it's great to see E. Walker back on TV. But one minor criticism - I've been to Bayonne and there's no way Lights has that house in Bayonne ("Welcome to Bayonne?"). Seriously - say it's West Caldwell or Summit or even Fort Lee, but that ain't Bayonne.

Otherwise, I'm enjoying the ride and looking forward to where this is going.

Thanks Alan- I missed that throughout the episodes I watched (I keep hearing the Bayonne references from everyone else and I thought the one daughter said "Welcome to Bayonne"). The mansion looks like it belongs in Far Hills....maybe down the road from Tyson's old place in Bernardsville).

Can someone tell me "what happened in Chicago?" I was interrupted and missed the dialogue b/w Lights & Romeo there. Plus, I can barely hear what Romeo's saying most of the time. Interesting touch by the actor (b/c of course, only deeply serious and very important people speak softly in all situations).

And thanks to @DougMac for finding a silver lining in the Ava-related scenes. The middle daughter character is crafted well enough to warrant extended camera time, but that eldest daughter is pure AJ Soprano - I see what the writers are doing (annoying, superficial, self-centered child of privilege), but I still hate watching....Great episode, new wrinkles in the story.

Death Row dropped Romeo as his trainer in Chicago and in response to that Romeo tried to commit suicide by slashing his wrists nearly up to his elbows. He then told Lights that "this is life and death to me"

I guess that I'm on my own on this: I can't STAND Romeo - or rather, Walker. I agree with you, Alan, that I liked him on "Oz," but his acting style here is just insufferable. It calls too much attention to his acting style, so that I'm pulled out of the show. Yuck.

Totally trivial, but I liked that Shane Ingersoll is both a boxing promoter on one poster in Light's study and fighting in the undercard on the other. Coincidence that there is a Shane Ingersoll in the art department?

I got the feeling when Reynolds showed up at the Leary Gym that it was likely that Johnny (and most likely in collusion with Barry Word) sent him there to try and "win" Lights back to his father, brother, and sister. It just felt like a sales pitch away from Ed Romeo rather than a heartfelt piece of advice. It would also fit with the desperate scene in the office where the family showed just how irrelevant they are without him... you certainly could not put that kind of a move past Johnny. I dug the Ed Romeo performance BIG TIME. I could not stand the Ava story, because it was both uninteresting and not at all well-executed. The show is very good, with a few minor caveats. This was the first week where Pops bothered me, but not truly until he came back as part of the Leary family sales pitch.

While the family subplot can get lame, the actress who plays Ava (and is in her early 20s) is causing a major tent to get pitched in my trousers when she's on screen. She looked good in the white dress. But, really, I don't care about the family. This show is like Breaking Bad, where it's not easy to really like any of the characters, but to still have an interest in their story.